safe haven
by dreamythedark
Summary: "Are you lonely?" Kaneki freezes up, and Hide's sure that's it. "You know you've got me, right? You don't have to be."


**uh**  
**here is hidekane**  
**well not really**  
**it's mostly platonic? depends on how you see it...  
**

**...you may as well read this on AO3...I'm dreamydark there too...**

* * *

Hide isn't sure what possesses him to check the door in the middle of the night during a downpour, but he's always had good instincts. Maybe his mom had returned early from her night shift and forgot her keys? Doubtful, but it's a possibility.

What he isn't expecting to find is a figure huddled under the roof over the porch, shuddering in the cold. The figure turns when he hears the door open, and—

"Kaneki?"

Kaneki flinches at the sound of his own name. "Hey, Hide." He waves weakly, like nothing's out of the ordinary.

Hide has a million and one questions, most variations of _what the hell are you doing here_, but that can wait until Kaneki's out of the cold. "Well, come in!"

Kaneki looks at Hide like _he's_ the one being weird. _Seriously?_ "You _want_ to stay out in the rain?" He raises his voice to be heard over the wind.

"Um, no..." That's good enough, so Hide yanks him inside and slams the door shut.

Kaneki is looking around nervously, like he wants to say something. "Do you want something?"

He startles, like he hadn't expected Hide to notice how obvious he was being. "My b-bag, I left it outside..." He sounds reluctant to admit it, which makes no sense.

Hide is inexplicably angry, pulling the door open. The wind cuts at his face, but he manages to lean out far enough to grasp the bag's strap and pull it inside. But the wind is too strong, and the door won't close— "Damn it!"

Kaneki pushes at the door, barely enough to get it shut long enough for Hide to lock it. "Thanks." He sighs in relief.

"It's no-nothing." He's shivering, dripping water onto the floor. Hide is too, his clothes already soaked through even from the short time he spent in the rain.

"C'mon, I'll run you a bath." He starts heading to his room, beckoning. When Kaneki doesn't move, Hide calls out his name. "Kaneki! Earth to Kaneki?"

Shocked out of whatever stupor he fell into, Kaneki jumps. "S-sorry!" he apologizes, and follows him in.

It isn't like Kaneki hasn't stayed here before, but never like this, randomly showing up it the middle of the night. Still, it's easy to find what has been designated as Kaneki's towel and throw it at him. "Find a pair of clothes, I'll get the bath ready." He'd let Kaneki do it himself, but with the way Kaneki's shaking Hide's surprised he actually managed to catch the towel.

Waiting for the tub to fill, Hide checks back on Kaneki. He's sitting on the bed at least, with a pair of warm pajamas that are more Kaneki's than Hide's at this point; Kaneki's stayed over a lot. Often without warning, so he always ends up having to borrow Hide's clothes. (Not that Hide minds.) "Oi, 'neki."

Kaneki meets his eyes, oddly slow. "You alright? I don't need to like, watch over you or something?" Hide's only half-joking, because Kaneki looks really out of it. What if he had hypothermia from the rain? Did hypothermia even make you tired? (Shouldn't he know this, being a nurse's son?)

Luckily, that seems to snap Kaneki out of it. He shakes his head, protesting, "I can do that myself, Hide!"

"Alright, alright. Tell me if you need anything, okay?"

Kaneki shrugs, which is _not at all_ comforting, and shuts the door.

* * *

It's only once Kaneki closes the door that Hide allows himself to even _think_ about how cold he is. His clothes are damp, sticking to his skin, so it takes longer than usual to peel them off. Once he does, it's so tempting to just crawl under the covers and pass out, but he still has to figure out why Kaneki's even here.

So instead, he finds a towel (which takes a while, for some reason) and starts drying off. He's almost finished drying his hair when Kaneki opens the door. "Huh, already finished?"

"I was—" Kaneki's voice gets oddly high-pitched at the end, and the door slams shut. "T-tell me when you're done!"

Hide hadn't actually gotten to see Kaneki's face just then, but he imagines he would be blushing. He was self-conscious at the strangest times; he could change in the locker room without trouble, but would turn red with embarrassment whenever Hide suggested going swimming. Whatever, Kaneki wouldn't be Kaneki without that, right?

He pulls on a pair of sweatpants and a comfortable sweater. "You can come out of hiding now, 'neki," he teases.

"Stop that," Kaneki says. He's still faintly pink from the hot bath, shuddering in the less-warm air of Hide's room.

Hide nods to Kaneki's hair, still damp with water droplets running down the side of his neck and into the collar of his shirt. "Why the rush?"

"I was falling asleep."

—_and would've drowned in the bathtub. _"...That would be a problem." Now that Kaneki's no longer in danger of freezing to death, it's as good of a time as any to get answers to some of Hide's questions. "So, you gonna explain what you're doing here?"

Bingo. Kaneki instantly drops his gaze, looking at the floor. After a pause, he answers, "I got kicked out."

"In _this_ weather?" Hide can't believe it, but...it's not that surprising, sadly. "Your aunt is horrible." Horrible doesn't even begin to describe her; there are no words for the absolute filth Kaneki's aunt is.

Kaneki winces like his words are a physical blow. Hide has no idea why he puts up with her, sometimes even defends her, but it's not his place to stick his nose in. Kaneki can deal with it. (Hopefully.) "For what, no reason?" That doesn't mean he isn't going to hoard every piece of evidence he can against her, though.

Kaneki fidgets, withdrawing further into himself. "I wanted some food, so I—"

Hide's heard enough. He grabs Kaneki's arm and drags him into the kitchen to make him _stop talking_, because if he hears anymore he will probably explode. Forcing his voice to a cheerful pitch, he asks, "You okay with"—he checks the kitchen for anything edible—"instant ramen?"

Kaneki nods, so Hide wastes no time. It's done quickly, and Hide serves with a flourish. "Enjoy your meal, sir."

"You're ridiculous." Kaneki starts eating, possibly gripping the chopsticks harder than necessary but. Eating. Hide finally lets himself relax, and pulls out an energy drink from the fridge.

Kaneki looks at him like a disappointed parent, and Hide sighs, taking out some orange juice instead. "You're not my mom, Kaneki."

"But I'm still your best friend, and it's my job to make sure you don't exhaust yourself," Kaneki lectures.

Hide wonders if he should point out Kaneki's amazing hypocrisy, but it's not worth it. Kaneki's right, even though Hide hates to admit it; his sleeping schedule is so messed up it's nonexistent at this point.

While Hide weighs the pros and cons of ignoring Kaneki and pulling another all-nighter anyway, Kaneki finishes his ramen. "Hide?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I stay here tonight?" he asks reluctantly.

Hide stares at him. Is he _serious_— "What do you _think_?"

"Um—"

"Of course, you idiot!" How can someone so smart be so incredibly _dense_, Hide will never know. "You've stayed here like a million times, and you_still_ think you're not welcome?"

Kaneki flushes, stammering, "But this is—completely without warning and—"

Hide shushes him. "Nope! Now, come with me?"

Kaneki follows him to his room, and Hide pulls out what is basically Kaneki's futon. Now that he thinks about it, a lot of his things seem to be "basically Kaneki's," but that's not exactly surprising. They've sort of known each other forever. Which is why it makes no sense that Kaneki has to ask to stay over. Shouldn't that be obvious by now?

"What are you thinking about?" Crap, even always-oblivious Kaneki noticed?

"Eh, it's nothing." Hide brushes away his concern. He sets up the futon next to his bed. "That good?"

"Yeah, thanks." Kaneki seems subdued, and Hide hates it. He can't decide if he should push for more or just leave Kaneki to deal with it himself. Whatever it is though, it can wait after they've gotten a night's rest.

"G'night, Kaneki,"

"Goodnight," Kaneki says, and that's that. Hide finally lets his eyes close, ready to sleep for the next thirty hours or so.

...Or he would, if Kaneki would _stop fidgeting_. Hide knows he's tired, so why isn't he asleep?

After a few minutes of the same fidgeting, he's annoyed. "_Ka-ne-ki_," he drones. "Go to _sleeeeep_."

He can hear the exact moment Kaneki freezes and holds his breath. It's quiet, but the dead silence is more unnerving than Kaneki's steady breathing. "Not what I meant..."

"Sorry," Kaneki whispers.

Hide sits up. "Why can't you sleep? You were falling asleep on your feet before, but now what?" he asks, half concerned and half annoyed.

A heavy silence hangs over them for a few moments while Kaneki ponders what to say. "It's cold."

"Cold?" Hide had given Kaneki a freaking mountain of blankets, worried he would fall sick, and turned the heater on. Hide's sweating even through his thin blanket, but Kaneki's cold? "Are you sick?"

"Just—forget I said anything."

"Hey, don't be like that!" Hide has a pretty good guess of why Kaneki's cold, though. "You want the bed?"

"I can't just kick you out..." Kaneki says, always so selfless Hide wants to—_agh_.

"Then we'll share!" _Duh_. It's not like it would be the first time.

Kaneki doesn't protest, which is unusual. He stands up, barely visible in the dark, and makes his way over to Hide's bed. After a bit of fumbling, he successfully manages to lift up the covers and slip inside. "Good?" Hide asks.

"Mhmm." He hesitates for a moment too long.

"You don't have to be so shy, 'neki! Don't we know each other well enough?" Before Kaneki can say something else stupid, like asking _oh what could you ever mean?_, Hide pulls him closer, tucking him in so his forehead is pressed his chest. "Better?" Kaneki feels too vulnerable in his arms, heart beating the fast sprint of a hummingbird.

"H-hide!" Kaneki must be flushed crimson by now. "What—"

"Are you lonely?"

Kaneki freezes up, and Hide's sure that's it. "You know you've got me, right? You don't have to be." He wonders if he's pushed too far. Kaneki tends to run away from anything involving his own feelings, and Hide really hates to make his friend uncomfortable.

But one thing he hates even more is seeing his friend unhappy. For the millionth time, Hide wishes Kaneki's aunt would just disappear so Kaneki could finally be free. Wishes he could do something to help.

It's the least he can do now; hold Kaneki close and try to protect him, just for this one night. "It's warmer now, yeah?"

Kaneki finally relaxes, exhaustion catching up to him. "Yeah..." His next words are barely a whisper.

"Thanks, Hide."

"What are friends for?"

* * *

**someone teach me how to end fics**

**please leave a comment and tell me what you thought!**


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